Main Content
Syllabus
B A 250 Small Business Management
The information contained on this page is designed to give students a representative example of material covered in the course. Any information related to course assignments, dates, or course materials is illustrative only. For a definitive list of materials, please check the online catalog 3-4 weeks before the course start date.B A 250 Small Business Management (3): Analysis of problems of the small firm, particularly for the student who wishes to venture into business. Prerequisite: 3 credits in economics.
Overview
Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Mark Zuckerberg each had an idea and turned that idea into a successful business. These very successful entrepreneurs all started out small. Their passion, knowledge, and willingness to take risks and suffer setbacks contributed to their enormous success.
Do you have the entrepreneurial spirit? Have you ever thought about running your own business? Do you have what it takes to turn a dream or an idea into reality?
This course is designed to give you a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing the small business entrepreneur. The creation and management of any small business requires a broad understanding of the business administration curriculum. The topics covered will provide you with the theory and practical application of knowledge needed to meet the challenges and risks facing any small business owner/manager.
Although early on we will examine many of the reasons why small businesses fail, the remainder of the course will provide you with the knowledge and information needed to avoid many of the potential pitfalls awaiting new entrepreneurs.
Course Objectives
By the time you complete this course, you should be able to do the following:
- Discuss the importance of small businesses.
- Identify the characteristics of the entrepreneur.
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of small businesses.
- Differentiate among franchising, buying an existing business, and creating a new business.
- Outline the importance of strategic thinking and of developing good planning skills and practices.
- Discuss what should be included in a comprehensive business plan.
- Discuss the special importance of the marketing function and its role.
- Explore the day-to-day operational elements required of any small business.
- Outline how and why human resources are the most important resource for any business.
- Describe the legal and regulatory issues facing every small business owner/manager.
- Examine how this variety of topics, issues, and knowledge comes together as a base of knowledge that the small business owner must draw upon.
Required Course Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.Library Resources
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
Technical Specifications
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
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| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ)
During the semester you will receive information for completing the Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ). Your participation is an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on your learning experience. Your feedback is important because it allows us to understand your experience in this course and make changes to improve the learning experiences of future students. Please monitor email and course communications for links and availability dates.
Note: Cookies, Java, and JavaScript must be enabled. Pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites.
Third-Party Tools
Microsoft Teams will be utilized for this course. Teams is a collaborative tool that allows you to communicate synchronously (in real time) with your instructor and classmates. It allows you to screen share documents, files, photos, and record meetings or presentations. Additional information can be found on the "Using Microsoft Teams" page in this course.
Course Schedule
The schedule below outlines the topics we will be covering in the course, along with the associated time frames and assignments.
Note that all dates reflect North American eastern time (ET). This ensures that all students have the same deadlines regardless of where they live. All lesson assignments must be submitted by 11:59PM (ET) on the last day of the timeframe indicated below for the lesson unless otherwise stated. Initial Discussion Forum posts are due Thursday of the lesson week assigned, unless otherwise stated.
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Note: This syllabus is subject to change. It is your responsibility to note changes announced or otherwise published. Your instructor assumes that all students are aware of any changes once they are announced.
Course Requirements
Study Procedures
For each lesson, you should do the following things:
- Read and study the textbook assignments.
- Read the learning objectives, review the key terms, and read the online commentary.
- Review the lesson assignments.
- Prepare the lesson assignments, and submit your work to your instructor for grading via the online course space.
- Refer to the commentary and text material as necessary to complete your assignments. Read this material carefully. It is important to get a complete overview of the reading material before responding to the assignments.
Your answers to the assignments should be in discussion form, except for any practice problems. Brief answers may not fully relate your understanding of the material. Be thorough, but do not fill pages with irrelevant discussion. Your written assignments are your primary contact with the instructor. Write your responses in an organized, clear, and complete manner. Use examples from your own experiences; do not copy directly from the online commentary or the textbook. Please refer to the rubrics for each assignment for complete grading details.
Lesson Components
The lesson components include the following:
- Reading assignments: These are the pages of the textbook to be read before completing the lesson.
- Learning objectives: These are short statements of what you should expect to learn after completing the lesson.
- Key terms: Key concepts and terms will be identified and briefly explained for most lessons.
- Commentary: Important aspects of the reading assignment and other relevant information will be included. This online commentary is similar to the lecture component in an in-residence course.
- Rubric: A rubric is a scoring tool that lists criteria upon which grades will be based. Rubrics are provided so that you are aware of how you will be evaluated.
Course and Projects Overview
There are 14 lessons that include graded exams, discussion forums, and weekly team assignments.
| Points | Description |
|---|---|
| 180 | Exams: There are four required, graded exams. Each exam is worth 45 points. Each exam will cover the material in specific lessons ans will contain 15 questions. |
| 50 | Discussion forums: There are three discussion forums. The introduction forum is worth 10 points and the other two discussions are worth 20 points each. |
| 5 | Team Plan: You will be required to post your team's plan for collaborating on team projects. |
| 180 | Team Lesson Assignments: There will be nine lesson assignments worth 20 points each. Each will require students to address specific aspects of a small business plan. |
| 415 | TOTAL POINTS |
Discussion Forums
You are expected to participate in these discussions and will be evaluated on the frequency and quality of your participation. Evaluation will be based on your level of preparation for each discussion and your analysis and integration of assigned materials. You are expected to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively.
In addition to thoroughly responding to all discussion forum questions, you must make a minimum of two additional responses to others' postings during each week. Responses need to be on topic to receive credit. Both quantity and quality are important considerations when it comes to participation. For example, a message of simple agreement that reiterates what a previous student stated—even if in different words—does not constitute participation because it does not add anything of substance to the discussion. Additions can include new ideas, your perspectives, pointed follow-up questions, and so on.
NOTE: After posting to a Discussion Forum, you will not have the ability to edit or delete your post. It is recommended that you compose your discussion message in a word processing program first, and then copy and paste the text into the Discussion Forum.Grading
Details and rubrics for assignments are found in the Projects and Rubrics section of this syllabus.
Letter grades will be assigned using the following scale:
Letter grade values
| Numerical value | Letter grade |
|---|---|
| 93.00 and above | A |
| 90.00–92.99 | A- |
| 87.00–89.99 | B+ |
| 83.00–86.99 | B |
| 80.00–82.99 | B- |
| 77.00–79.99 | C+ |
| 70.00–76.99 | C |
| 60.00–69.99 | D |
| Below 60.00 | F |
A grade of C or better is required to pass the course.
Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal. If, for reasons beyond the student's control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student's transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student's associated Penn State campus.For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page.
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity , an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity ). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
World Campus students are expected to act with civility and
personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and
property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all
can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment
of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and
others, as well as a civil community.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, the Policy on Academic Integrity indicates that procedure requires an instructor to inform the student of the allegation. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If that committee recommends an administrative sanction (Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, Expulsion), the claim will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us by going to the Contacts & Help page .
Additional Academic Integrity Violations
Please note: Various tutoring websites claim to offer you the opportunity to download answers to everything from accounting problems to quiz questions for little to no cost. Full papers can also be downloaded to submit in place of your own work. Use of these materials, or “ghosting,” is considered cheating and an academic integrity violation. Similarly, uploading exams, course materials, or your work to one of these sites is considered an academic integrity violation.
Using online services that complete assignments for you is considered an academic integrity violation.
Giving your Penn State Access ID and password to someone else to do your work is against University policy AD95/AD96 and an academic integrity violation; sanctions will be given for these violations.
Course Policies
Late Policy
Late Assignments will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to contact the instructor prior to the due date of an assignment if you are aware of extenuating circumstances that will impact your ability to meet a deadline. The instructor will determine if alternative arrangements may be made.
Blank or Erroneous Assignment Submissions
It is your responsibility to ensure that you have uploaded the correct document to each assignment prior to the assignment due date. Please check your assignment submission immediately after uploading a file in Canvas to ensure that it contains content and is the correct file. If you notice an error, such as a blank or incorrect file, you must resubmit the assignment before the assignment due date. Similarly, you are responsible for ensuring that discussion forum initial posts are not blank and that any website URL submissions (such as links to documents, video recordings, etc.) have the correct sharing settings enabled so that they can be viewed by recipients. Any blank or erroneous submissions that you have not resubmitted by the assignment due date will receive a zero for the assignment.
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Veterans and Military Personnel
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
Privacy Notice
In order to protect your privacy, course access is limited to those individuals who have direct responsibility for the quality of your educational experience. In addition to the instructor, a teaching assistant or college administrator may be provided access in order to ensure optimal faculty availability and access. World Campus technical staff may also be given access in order to resolve technical support issues.
Additional Policies
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
- Students are responsible for online course content, taking notes, obtaining other materials provided by the instructor, taking tests (if applicable), and completing assignments as scheduled by the instructor. As a general rule, students should plan on logging into the course at least three times per week and spending at least three hours per course credit per week on the course, e.g., if the course is three credits, the student should plan on spending at least 9-12 hours per week on the course, just as they would in a residence course.
- Students are responsible for keeping track of changes in the course syllabus made by the instructor throughout the semester.
- Students are responsible for monitoring their grades.
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Students must contact their instructor (and teammates when working on any collaborative learning assignments) as soon as possible if they anticipate missing long periods of online time due to events such as chronic illnesses, death in the family, business travel, or other appropriate events. The instructor will determine the minimal log on time and participation required in order to meet course responsibilities. In the event of other unforeseen conflicts, the instructor and student will arrive at a solution together.
- Requests for taking exams or submitting assignments after the due dates require documentation of events such as illness, family emergency, or a business-sanctioned activity.
- Conflicts with dates on which examinations or assignments are scheduled must be discussed with the instructor or TA prior to the date of the examination or assignment.
- Students are responsible for following appropriate netiquette (network etiquette) when communicating with their instructor and classmates. For reference, see the Academic Success Kit.
- Behaviors that disrupt other students’ learning are not acceptable and will be addressed by the instructor.
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For severe and chronic problems with student disruptive behavior, the following will be applied for resolution:
- Senate Committee on Student Life policy on managing classroom disruptions: Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
- Penn State Principles
If you have a crisis or safety concern, mental health services are available to you as a Penn State student. Crisis and emergency contacts are available, no matter where you are located:
- Anywhere in the United States: Call the Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400 or text LIONS to 741741. You can also contact your local crisis services or hospital for emergencies.
- Outside the United States: Please contact emergency services in your current location. You can also use the International Crisis and Emergency Services listings.
- At University Park: Assistance is available at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) locations on campus.
- At a Penn State branch campus: You can search for counseling information at your campus.
Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this course syllabus are subject to change; you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.